Rays Sign Naoyuki Uwasawa To Minor-League Deal
10 months agoThe Tampa Bay Rays signed free-agent Japanese right-hander Naoyuki Uwasawa to a minor-league contract with an invitation to major-league camp on Thursday. Uwasawa comes over from the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters of Nippon Professional Baseball, where he had a 2.96 ERA with only 124 strikeouts in 170 innings pitched in 2023. It remains to be seen what role the Rays will have him in once he reaches the big leagues, but he carries considerably less upside than fellow countrymen Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Shota Imanaga, who are also making the jump from Japan to the U.S. in 2024. Uwasawa will get a chance to earn his way onto the Opening Day roster with a strong performance in spring training.
Source: Rays Communications
Source: Rays Communications